With the beginning of Spring Training, MLB’s network partners are gearing up for the 2013 regular season. Today, MLB on FOX released their 2013 national broadcast schedule for the “Saturday Game of the Week.”

The 24-week schedule, includes eight consecutive weeks of primetime coverage for the second straight year leading to the 84th MLB All-Star Game. Every U.S.-based team makes at least one appearance this season, and at least one at home during the prime time stretch which begins in late May.

MLB on FOX regional coverage debuts on Saturday, April 6 with a three game schedule that features rematches of both 2012 League Championship Series and a key A.L. West showdown.  That day, the defending American League Champion Detroit Tigers host the runner-up New York Yankees, and the World Champion San Francisco Giants welcome the St. Louis Cardinals, while Los Angeles Angels’ with Josh Hamilton returns to the Lone Star State as the Halos travel to face the Texas Rangers.

Primetime coverage of the 2013 season begins Saturday, May 25 (7:00-10:00 PM ET) with five contests featuring the Washington Nationals and N.L. Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper hosting their division rival Philadelphia Phillies, David Freese and the Cardinals in Los Angeles to take on Matt Kemp and the Dodgers; the New York Mets welcoming the Upton brothers and the Atlanta Braves; the Oakland Athletics visiting the Houston Astros, the American League’s newest member; and an interleague tilt with the Chicago White Sox at home against the Miami Marlins. The primetime schedule also includes interleague games on Saturday, June 15, June 22 and June 29, and culminates on July 13 with five games, including an N.L. Central battle between the Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.  In all, MLB on FOX presents 11 interleague games on eight dates.

The schedule on Saturday, June 1 features the first of this season’s record five Yankees/Red Sox rivalry clashes. It was during an April game on FOX last season that the Yankees, trailing Boston 9-0 after five innings, stormed back with seven runs in the seventh and eighth to notch the improbable 15-9 win.  The Bosox and Bombers also square off on July 20, Aug. 17, Sept. 7 and Sept. 14.

The Nationals, Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds are each scheduled to make a maximum nine appearances on FOX, while the Yankees, Tigers, Cardinals, Braves and Dodgers are scheduled for eight appearances. As always, the final two Saturdays of the regular season are designated as “wild card” dates, allowing FOX Sports and MLB to choose games that have postseason implications.  Potential selections include Giants-Yankees on Saturday, Sept. 21 and Angels-Rangers and Cubs-Cardinals on Saturday, Sept. 28.

In addition to its regular-season coverage, FOX Sports broadcasts the 84^th MLB All-Star Game, live from Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, on Tuesday, July 16 (7:30-11:30 PM ET), the American League Championship Series and the 109^th World Series.

SELECT READ MORE TO SEE THE ENTIRE NATIONAL BROADCAST SCHEDULE FOR THE 2013 MLB REGULAR SEASON

This, folks, is not good. This isn’t the line for the DMV or to catch the matinee showing of “Fun Size”. No, this is what the line looked like 25 minutes before single-game tickets for the Miami Marlins 2013 season went on sale. This is what dumping $146.5 million in salary gets you one year after a brand new stadium opens built on the backs of taxpayers. The unfortunate thing is, the steep dive back into the attendance abyss for the Marlins will work to their advantage. Paring back salary at the detriment of attendance really is about cutting the margins down, and therefore, as in years past, the Marlins will profit by living off welfare. Dear Commissioner Selig, is the way to let one club tarnish the rest of the league?

For more, read this from Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He writes for Baseball Prospectus and is a contributor to Forbes. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

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On Thursday, I took part in a series of mock salary arbitration cases that are appearing on Baseball Prospectus. In the case, I covered the Tigers’ side if Max Scherzer had gone to hearing. It was a tough case to make. Scherzer certainly anchored the rotation behind Justin Verlander.

The process of doing mock hearings is so enjoyable that I decided to play both sides of the street. On Thursday it was a case for the Tigers. Today, it’s my case for Scherzer. -- Maury Brown

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In the case of Max Scherzer seeking a one-year salary arbitration salary for 2013 with the Detroit Tigers, a strong case is made that the $7.4 million salary he is seeking is fair, not only in comparison to his peers within his service time class this year, but in the year prior.

Scherzer compiled the finest season of his career, posting a 16-7 record, 3.74 ERA and 231 strikeouts in 32 starts. He was the #2 starter on the roster behind only Justin Verlander. His achievements on the season show clearly why the salary he is seeking is warranted. Scherzer’s 2012 platform season display that he is not only one of the best pitchers on the Tigers’ staff, but in all baseball for his ability to gain strikeouts and his winning percentage places him at the top of his salary arbitration class for starting pitchers. His season accomplishments provide ample evidence.

• He ranked second in all of Major League Baseball in strikeouts behind only Verlander (231)
• Led the American League in stikeouts per 9 innings (1.08)
• His winning percentage of .696 ranked ahead of teammate Verlander and fourth behind only CC Sabathia, Jered Weaver, and David Price in the American League,
• Scherzer struck out nine-or-more batters in 13 of his starts during the season and topped all major league pitchers with 13 such outings. His 13 such games marked the most by a Tigers pitcher since Mickey Lolich posted 15 games with nine-or more strikeouts in 971.
• Finished 4-0 with a 4.04 ERA (35.2IP/16ER) and 51 strikeouts in six starts during May -- according to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marked only the fourth time a Tigers pitcher posted an unbeaten record with at least four wins and 50 strikeouts during a calendar month, In doing so, he joined Jack Morris (August of 1983) and Justin Verlander (May of 2009 and June of 2011) in accomplishing the feat.
• Scherzer led the American League with 51 strikeouts during May, while he tied for the lead with four wins.
• He struck out at least eight batters in 10 consecutive starts July 19-September 7 which marked the longest such streak of outings by a Tigers pitcher since at least 1918.
• Scherzer won five straight starts August 10-September 1, compiling a 1.03 ERA (35.0IP/4ER) and 44 strikeouts -- according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first pitcher in Tigers history to win five straight starts while averaging more than one strikeout per inning and not allowing more than two runs during any of the starts.
• He was the Tigers Pitcher of the Month for August after compiling a 4-0 record, 2.25 ERA (32.0IP/8ER) and 44 strikeouts in five starts during the month -- tied for the lead in the American League with four wins during August, while he tied for second with 44 strikeouts and was seventh with a 2.25 ERA.
• Finished 2-1 with a 2.17 ERA (29.0IP/7ER) and 33 strikeouts in five starts during September
• Limited righthanded hitters to a .201 batting average (66x329) while lefties batted .292 (113x387) with him on the mound
• He received votes for AL Pitcher of the Month in August (4-0, 2.25 ERA, 9 BB, 44 SO) and in September (2-1, 2.17 ERA, 29.0 IP, 4 BB, 33 SO).

Compared to his peers in his service group, he is at the top of several statistical categories:

In comparison to Jason Hammel of the Orioles: Scherzer is seeking a salary of $7.4 million compared to Hammel’s $8.25 million. And yet, Scherzer posts twice as many wins (16), and struck out a staggering 122 more batters faced.

Compared to Homer Bailey: he has a higher winning percentage, gave up 27 less hits, and struck out 68 more batters in 20.8 less innings pitched.

Scherzer’s salary of $7.4 million he is seeking is also warranted based on comparable players in the year prior with the same amount of service time.

In 2011, Matt Garza of the Chicago Cubs was within the same Major League service time range as Scherzer is now (4 years). Garza had sought a salary of $12.5 million—a staggering $5.1 million more than what Scherzer is seeking. Ultimately, Garza and the Cubs reached a settlement of $9.5 million, still more than $2 million than what Scherzer is seeking. And yet, they are very closely matched statistically. While Scherzer gave up more home runs, he had less walks. When adjusting for the amount of innings pitched, the amount of hits, runs, and earned runs are within a very small margin. Scherzer’s winning percentage is 196 points higher than Garza, and yet he is seeking far less in pay.

Based upon the performance and pay of his peers, Max Scherzer clearly deserves the $7.4 million he is seeking. The $6.5 million that the Tigers are offering would be a disservice to a stellar 2012 season for the Tigers’ starter.

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He writes for Baseball Prospectus and is a contributor to Forbes. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

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He’s call him the “King” and now he’s getting paid like one.

Today, the Seattle Mariners reached an agreement with former AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez to a 7-year, $175 million contract. In doing so he becomes the highest-paid pitcher in baseball. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the deal is expected to be finalized before Spring Training. As reported by Nightengale:

Hernandez was scheduled to earn $19.5 million in 2013 and $20 million in '14. Instead, his new contract will take effect this season and pay him a record average annual value of $25 million through 2019.

So, how does the contract rate against his current and former peers?

By average annual value (AAV) he ranks #4 tied with Ryan Howard and Josh Hamilton at $25 million, and surpasses the Dodgers’ Zack Grienke  who’s AAV for his 2013-18 deal is $24.5 million as the highest AAV for a starting pitcher.

As mentioned, in terms of total dollars he surpasses CC Sabathia’s 7-year, $161 million deal that runs 2009-15 as the highest paid pitcher. He ranks #9 overall below Mark Teixeira of the Yankees who has a 8-year, $180 million deal that runs 2009-16.

And while the total dollars are nothing to sneeze at, the contract length is fraught with risk. The 7-year deal ties him with Sabathia, and Kevin Brown’s deal in 1998 for $105 million with the Dodgers as some of the longest in MLB history for a starting pitcher. Only the 8-year, $121 million contract that Mike Hampton reached with the Colorado Rockies in 2000 ranks longer for an active player. Prior to the 1977 season, Wayne Garland signed a 10-year, $2.3 million deal with the Cleveland Indians. He retired after the 1981 season and Garland never played through the entire contract length.

Hernandez is now 26, turning 27 on April 8. By the time the contract expires in 2019 he will be  33 years old.

And while the deal looks extraordinary now, just wait... Justin Verlander is waiting in the wings and is more than likely to top Hernandez sometime soon.

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He writes for Baseball Prospectus and is a contributor to Forbes. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

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FOX Sports San Diego and DISH today announced that as of April 1, 2013, DISH San Diego customers will have access to the Padres, Clippers and Ducks, plus other local sports events for the Southern California franchises.  FOX Sports San Diego will be available for local DISH customers with the America’s Top 120 Plus and Latino Dos packages. Financial terms were not released.

The Padres receive $200 million in upfront money as part of the Fox Sports San Diego rights deal valued $1.2 billion over 30-years. The club has a 20 percent ownership stake in the regional sports network.

“We're delighted that DISH is making Padres on FOX Sports San Diego available to their valued customers,” said Henry Ford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, FOX Sports San Diego. “On Opening Day 2013 Padres baseball will be delivered to more households than ever before.”

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He writes for Baseball Prospectus and is a contributor to Forbes. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

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What could have been... Cisco Field in Fremont

This is a guest article by Angie Picardo

"It's getting ugly in Oakland" might best describe the A's ongoing battle. Despite over 40 rich years of history in their fair city, the Athletics are preparing for a future approximately 40 miles south in San Jose. The man behind the upheaval of an Oakland institution is none other than A's owner Lew Wolff. To paint Wolff as a Grinch may be uncalled for. He's simply a businessman with roots in the real estate industry, who has gone on record as starting that there is no viable long term solution in Oakland. To many in Oakland, however, he is evil incarnate.

Despite a season that defied expectations and included a Western Division title and the organizations first playoff berth since 2006, the A's are no closer to obtaining a new home than before. However, 2012 brought a renewed interest in the team, and their passionate fans were lauded for their support during the season’s final weeks. Overall attendance still failed to impress.  A total attendance of 1,679,013 made their way thought the turnstiles in 2012, leaving the A's in the very bottom of the league and finishing 27th out of 30 teams. This is nothing new to Wolff and fellow owners, who have watched attendance plummet since taking over the team in 2005.

Wolff's first move in Oakland was to propose a move south to Fremont, California in 2006 (see computer renderings of the Cisco Field design in Fremont). The inception of the idea was generated around the idea of the creation of a "baseball village" which would include a grand shopping, residential, and sports facility that would be constructed over a 143-acre parcel of land near interstate 880. The plan was met with a mixture of confusion and animosity from A's fans, who didn't understand why Wolff would move their team to a less populated area. In Fremont, Wolff saw the opportunity to implement his vision without the constraints of Oakland's economy and lack of suitable space for development. The idea fell through before they could break ground due to concerns over public transportation and a high level of resistance from the Fremont community and city council.

During this time, Wolff quickly dismissed any and all overtures from the city of Oakland to keep the team. With the outdated and decrepit Oakland Coliseum failing to meet the needs of either the team or fans, options and proposals have bet set forth with little resolution.

Wolff has turned his attention further south to the tech savvy and affluent San Jose area, aligning himself with the supportive city council of the city. He has made progress in recruiting corporate sponsorship through Cisco enterprises, and has purchased land around the proposed area for a stadium. In many ways, the team is operating under the belief that San Jose will be the eventual future home of the Athletics. Standing in their way are the San Francisco Giants, who refuse to relent territorial right over the area. These rights however, are only in their hands thanks to the goodwill of former Athletics owner Walter Haas who gifted the Giants with the territory in the mid 80's when they sought to relocate away from Candlestick Park.  For now, an agreement that appeases both ownerships is on the agenda for Commissioner Bud Selig whose had not been able come up with a compromise after more than two years of sitting on the issue.

The city of Oakland, fighting to hold onto a trio of teams that desperately want to leave have continually stood by the stance that they have the ability to support professional sports.  A committee organized by the mayor's office, has proposed a pair of locations within the city to build a park to keep the Athletics. Both locations which near Jack London Square, have been shot down by Wolff and his cohorts and deemed as having "no ability to be implemented for a ballpark".

With the team's future essentially on hold, and playing season after season in the only active multi-purpose ballpark in sports, the time is now for a decision. If the Athletics cannot be moved within the Bay Area, Lew Wolff must sell the team to a buyer who will form an alliance with the city and build the stadium that the true fans deserve. After all, isn't it true that "if you build it, they will come"?

We'll just have to wait and see.

Angie Picardo is a staff writer for NerdWallet, a personal finance website.